One of the central issues in the philosophy of Gabriel Marcel is the distinction between "problem" and "mystery." The author claims that speech communication scholars find it necessary to objectify elements of communication in the framework of a problem in order to find answers in the form of systematic theories to explain the phenomenon in question. Marcel, however, treats communication as subjective, which classifies it as a mystery and, therefore, not open to objective methods of investigation. The author explains Marcel's analysis of communication as a facet of man's participation in existence. She concludes with the question as to whether the communications scholar inquires out of curiosity about a problem or, in fact, out of wonder about a mystery. (RN)